Peekaboo
by ryuzaki4
Summary: After he tries to retrieve stolen money, Jesse unintentionally adopts a child. A/U. Very short


Jesse stared down at the other end of the table. With a confused and upset glare, he shoved another piece of pancake into his mouth and chewed it noisily. The restaurant he sat in was slightly empty, full of truckers that were on their way to point B from point A. Every so often a waitress would move pass Jesse's side, frightening him. Whenever she would take a second glance at him, he would stare at her until she got comfortable. He hoped they would just think he was some perv and not someone worthy to be suspicious of. Then again, it had to have looked suspicious.

"This was a mistake."

Jesse looked at the small dirty kid who sat across from him at the table. The boy was quietly sipping on a cup of orange juice as he watched Jesse. He never said anything and only ate in silence. With a disgruntled sigh, Jesse took off his beanie and rubbed his hair in thought. He glanced at the kid again who was now finishing off his bacon and sighed.

"Ay, can we get the check please?" A waitress came over and laid the bill on the table. Flicking a twenty and some change, Jesse picked up the child and left the restaurant.

"Okay, you can pick a toy from here," He said to the small boy holding his hand. They stood in the aisle of a department store. Every so often someone would notice the two, eyeball them, but never say anything. The ginger boy let go of Jesse's hand and pointed to a Spongebob playset. "What, what you like Spongebob? You want Spongebob?" Jesse grabbed the toy and handed it to the boy. The kid seemed content so Jesse began to head towards the exit when the kid picked up another toy. Jesse scoffed and tried to pull away the Spongebob toys, but the child wouldn't let him. With a tired chuckled, Jesse dropped his head.

"Alright," He said, "Alright.. Hey, you know what? I'd pick those toys, too." The ginger boy smiled and Jesse let himself crack a smirk. "Let's get you some new clothes while we're here." When a new outfit and some shoes were picked out for the boy, Jesse brought everything to the register. The cashier looked between Jesse and the little boy, smiling every time she made eye contact with Pinkman.

"Is he your little brother?" She asked, popping her gum.

"Uh," Jesse looked down at the boy holding his hand, "Uh, y-yeah. Yeah, he's my kid brother."

"That's so sweet," The girl giggled, "Hey, maybe when you're not babysitting we could.. Hang out?" She handed the bag of clothes and toys to Jesse, accompanying them with a flirtatious wink. Jesse looked opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself. He looked down at the boy holding his hand and, after some visible expressions of inner turmoil, shook his head at the girl at the register. When Jesse brought the boy home he parked in front of his door and stared at it. He turned to the kid and then looked at the bag of toys the boy was carrying.

"Alright, here's what we're gonna do," Jesse started, "I'm gonna carry you and you're gonna carry the toys, okay? Alright? Is that a good plan?" The boy just stared at him. A pause followed the question before Jesse sighed. "Alright." He got out of his car, circling the front so that he could keep an eye on Jane's door beside his. As quick as he could, he opened the passenger door, unbuckled the kid, scooped him up, and raced to his door. Fussing with his keys, Jesse jammed his key inside the lock and opened the door. He ushered the kid inside, raced back to his car to close and lock his doors, and then scrambled back into his house just as Jane opened her door.

"Jesse?" She called from outside. "Is this a bad time 'cause I can come back later." Jesse carried the kid into the restroom before heading back to his front door, barely having time to catch his breath as he opened his door.

"Hey," He said, rubbing the back of neck, "Hey, uh.. Yeah, sorry, right now's not so good for me." Jane raised an eyebrow. "I got.. Things."

"Things?" She repeated.

"Yeah, things," Jesse cursed at himself, "Can it wait until, like.. I dunno. Tuesday?"

"Tuesday," Jane repeated, "Sure. Have fun with your.. _Things_." And with that she left.

Jesse shut the door behind him with a sigh of relief, closing his eyes to relish in the moment of peace. He swung off his jacket and kicked off his shoes near the front of the door, leaving both articles of clothing on the floor. He entered the restroom where he had left the boy. The child was standing in the doorway waiting for Jesse to return. He even smiled when the man came back for him. Jesse took the bag of clothes and toys away from the kid and knelt in front of him. He examined all of the dirt and grim covering the boy's face and clothing and hair. There had to have been bugs living in the ginger hair. Jesse sighed.

"I'm gonna give you a bath, alright?" The boy stared at him, "So, uh.. Get.. Naked, or whatever." Jesse stood and went to his bathtub. He turned it on and started to fill the tub. When he turned and saw the state of filth that the kid was in, Jesse gagged. Everything was caked onto the boy's body and his skin was so dried out rashes were forming just from the clothes the kid was wearing.

"Alright," Jesse cleared his throat, "Get in the water. It's a little warm so, you know.. Be careful." The little boy listened and sat in the tub. A dirt cloud formed around him and Jesse made a quiet disgusted noise. "Uh, you know what? Let's get the shower running first." He unclogged the drain and turned on the shower, letting the water run over the kid's body. The boy seemed to be enjoying the water. Occasionally he would splash some water out of the tub and onto Jesse and smile. In turn, Jesse would smile and the two even began splashing each other for a small bit. When Jesse turned off the shower and filled the tub, the boy began playing with the shampoo bottles. At one point he picked up Jesse's razor.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," He said, "Don't, uh.. Don't touch that." Jesse took away the razor and set it on his bathroom sink. "Hey, you want your toys?" Going to the bag, Jesse opened up the boxes and dumped the kid's toys with him in the bath. Immediately, the boy began playing with the toys, splashing them in the water and enjoying himself. While he was distracted, Jesse began to wash the kid thoroughly. Every once in a while he would have to refill the tub with new water and flush everything down by rinsing the boy off with a shower, but the total process took more than forty-five minutes. When he dried the boy off and put the new clean clothes on him, the child kept on smiling. Jesse let himself laugh.

"What?" He asked the kid, slipping on the boy's pants, "What're you smiling at?" All the boy did was place his hand on Jesse's shoulder. Jesse couldn't help but smile. He lifted the boy into his arms and took him into the living room, carrying the toys with him. He placed the boy in the center of the room when there were several loud knocks on his door. Jesse waited for a moment in silence, looking from the kid to the door.

"Uh.." He stood and went to his door, "Uh, who is it?"

"Jesse!" Mr. White's voice called from the other side of the door, "Jesse, open up." Jesse went to his door and opened it a crack.

"Oh, look, Mr. White," He pretended to cough, "I ain't feelin', too good, yo. Could you come back another time?" With a roll of his eyes, Walter burst through Jesse's door and stopped, puzzled at the child on his former student's carpet. The older man whirled around to look at Jesse.

"What the hell is a child doing on your floor?" He asked. Jesse shut the door, locking it.

"Ay, look," Jesse went over to the kid and stood in front of him so that neither Walter nor the boy could make eye contact, "When I took care of that – that thing for you, this kid was there and.. I thought, you know - "

"What, Jesse?" Mr. White asked. "You thought what? That you could take care of this kid? Do you have any idea what danger you put this kid in because of what you do?"

"Hey! At least I've taken better care of this kid than those crackheads - " Jesse stopped himself. He felt a tugging on his pants and spun around to look down at the boy. The child made the peek-a-boo gesture. Jesse knelt down in front of the kid and smiled. "Ah, hey, bud.. We can't do that right now. Gimme a sec, okay?"

"Jesse," Mr. White's tone was surprisingly compassionate, "You can't keep this kid. You – you don't.. You can't expect him to be safe. What if someone finds out about him and - " Mr. White sighed. Jesse looked at the kid and sighed. It was quiet for a minute or two before Mr. White opened the door. "The next time I call that kid better be gone.. And answer your phone." Mr. White shut the door behind him.

Jesse spent the rest of the day playing with the kid. He even made the boy a small bowl of spaghetti. When night came, Jesse let the boy sleep with him. The two stayed up, still playing, until Jesse decided that it was finally time for bed.

"You know Mr. White's got a point," Jesse said to the boy, "You're not safe with me." Jesse laughed dryly. "I don't even know your name." He sighed and looked at the now sleeping child. With a fond pat, Jesse let himself fall asleep with the kid.


End file.
